Missed opportunities for immunisation at hospitals in the western Cape--a reappraisal

Immunisation practices were examined at 6 hospitals in the western Cape during the latter half of 1992 to determine whether these practices had improved subsequent to the February 1991 resolution of the Health Matters Committee (HMC) on immunisation in hospitals, and since a similar study was undertaken in 1990. Exit interviews were conducted with the escorts of all children aged 3-59 months who attended the study hospitals on the days designated for the study. In the second study, 88 of the 311 children studied (28.3%) were in need of immunisation on arrival, but only 12 of the 88 (13.6%) were immunised during the hospital visit. There was no evidence of an increase in requests to see children's Road-to-Health cards (37.1% compared with 35.2% previously). The incidence of missed opportunities for measles immunisation in children aged 6-59 months remained unacceptably high (51.4% compared with 63.7% previously, when a strict definition was used; and 15.7% compared with 18.1% previously, when a lenient definition was used). Health authorities at all levels need to take urgent action to address the problem of missed opportunities for immunisation at hospitals.     

A Catalyst‐Directed Remote Stereogenic Center Switch During the Site‐Selective Aldol Desymmetrization of Cyclohexanone‐Based Diketones

Site‐selectivity, differentiating members of the same functional group type on one substrate, is an emerging tactic for shortened advanced building block and biomolecule synthesis. Despite its potential, site‐selectivity remains less studied and especially so for ketone‐based substrates. During this work ketone site‐selectivity has been coupled with the chiral amine‐catalyzed aldol desymmetrization of 4‐keto‐substituted cyclohexanones, allowing three stereogenic centers to form in the aldol product while leaving the acyclic ketone unreacted. Unique here, compared to all previous 4‐substituted cyclohexanone desymmetrizations, is the first access to synthetically useful quantities of an epimeric (remote stereogenic center) aldol product. To demonstrate the value of these aldol products, we show their elaboration into eight keto‐acetonide and one keto‐lactone products. All compounds were isolated as single diastereomers and in high ee (≥96%). These efforts represent the first full characterization of aldol products with type III, Figure 2, relative stereochemistry, regardless of the enantiomer formed.

     

Production issues for high aspect ratio Lobster-eye optics using LIGA

 A square packed array of square-channels with long channel axis aligned radially is a useful structure for condensing grazing incidence flux to a focus. These devices, known as Lobster-eye optics for their similarity to the eyes of the macruran crustaceans, show great promise as the focusing optic in the next generation of X-ray all-sky monitors. At X-ray wavelengths the optimal Lobster-eye structure requires an aspect ratio of channel length to width of greater than 30:1. Following recent success in fabricating a low aspect ratio Lobster-eye structure, we discuss some of the parameters for, and production issues involved in making, a useful Lobster-eye prototype using LIGA. We report on our initial attempts to produce high aspect ratio Lobster-eye optics using the LIGA process with a graphite substrate. Received: 10 August 2001/Accepted: 24 September 2001 AGP gratefully acknowledges receipt of an ARC post-doctoral fellowship. This work was supported by the Australian Synchrotron Research Program, which is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia under the Major National Research Facilities Program. Use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Energy Research, under Contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38. This paper was presented at the Fourth International Workshop on High Aspect Ratio Microstructure Technology HARMST 2001 in June 2001.     

Confocal laser scanning ophthalmoscope and spherical harmonics used as a possible aid to detect glaucoma

We present a procedure whereby the confocal laser scanning ophthalmoscope can be used to extract information about the three-dimensional structure of the central excavated area or the cup of the optic nerve head of the eye. The data are analyzed in terms of spherical harmonics. It is hypothesized that the shape of the cup of the optic nerve head for a normal eye can be parameterized by a specific set of spherical harmonic coefficients and is different from the set of coefficients describing a glaucomatous eye. The sets of coefficients are analyzed by using multivariate statistics and can in turn be used to classify new observations. Preliminary results indicate that there are significant differences in the coefficients and that the procedure might have potential as a diagnostic aid for the detection or the screening of glaucoma.     

Noninterferometric quantitative phase imaging with soft x rays

We demonstrate quantitative noninterferometric x-ray phase-amplitude measurement. We present results from two experimental geometries. The first geometry uses x rays diverging from a point source to produce high-resolution holograms of submicrometer-sized objects. The measured phase of the projected image agrees with the geometrically determined phase to within +/-7%. The second geometry uses a direct imaging microscope setup that allows the formation of a magnified image with a zone-plate lens. Here a direct measure of the object phase is made and agrees with that of the magnified object to better than +/-10%. In both cases the accuracy of the phase is limited by the pixel resolution.     

Group cognitive-behavioral treatment of binge eating disorder: a comparison of therapist-led versus self-help formats

A new enzymatic assay for selectively measuring conjugated bilirubin concentration in serum with use of bilirubin oxidase (BOD) has been developed. At pH 5.5 BOD can oxidize only conjugated bilirubin in the presence of reagents such as sodium fluoride and N-acetylcysteine which can decrease BOD reactivity to unconjugated bilirubin and bilirubin covalently bound to albumin (delta bilirubin). The resulting decrease in absorbance at 450 nm is linearly related to the concentration of conjugated bilirubin in serum. The BOD in this new assay was confirmed to oxidize conjugated bilirubin, and neither unconjugated nor delta bilirubin, based on both its reactivity to unconjugated bilirubin and HPLC results. This assay was found to give satisfactory results, such as in terms of the range of measurement, the reproducibility of the results, the lack of interference with coexisting substances in serum and the stability of the reagent solutions, in practical applications. The serum conjugated bilirubin concentrations determined using this assay correlate well with those determined by the HPLC analysis. This assay can be used for accurate monitoring of changes in the conjugated bilirubin concentration in patient sera. These findings suggest that the conjugated bilirubin assay is useful for fractional determination of bilirubin in icteric sera.     

Expression of CYP71B7, a cytochrome P450 expressed sequence Tag from Arabidopsis thaliana

c-Yes was purified 322-fold from a rat liver plasma membrane fraction to a single 60-kDa band on SDS-PAGE. The purified protein contained essentially no phosphotyrosine residues and was autophosphorylated with Mg2+. ATP exclusively at tyrosine residues with a concomitant increase in the protein-tyrosine kinase activity. The autophosphorylated c-Yes was extensively digested by trypsin and the resultant two major phosphopeptides, peptides I and II, were purified by HPLC on a reversed-phase C-18 column. The amino acid sequence of peptide I was determined to be LIEDNEYTAR, which is identical with the sequence from Leu-418 through Arg-427 of mouse c-Yes, indicating that one of the autophosphorylation sites corresponds to Tyr-424 of the mouse c-Yes. After partial determination of the N-terminal sequence of 10 amino acid residues of peptide II, the 230 bp sequence of rat cDNA that encodes the N-terminal 76 amino acid residues of c-Yes covering peptide II, was determined. From the predicted amino acid sequence, the sequence of peptide II was assumed to be from Tyr-16 through Lys-46, YTPENPTEPVNTSAGHYGVEHATAATTSSTK. The purified c-Yes phosphorylated the tyrosine residue of synthetic peptides covering Tyr-32 and its surrounding sequence but did not phosphorylate peptides covering Tyr-16 and its surrounding sequence, suggesting that the other autophosphorylation site is Tyr-32.     

Pyrazoline bisphosphonate esters as novel antiinflammatory and antiarthritic agents

Vinylidenebisphosphonic acid tetraethyl ester (1) and diazo ketones 7a-1 in ether at 22 degrees C yield pyrazoline bisphosphonate tetraethyl esters 8a-1 in moderate to good yield. These compounds were evaluated in animal models of arthritis: rat adjuvant-induced polyarthritis (AIP) and murine antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) and a murine model of chronic inflammation, the delayed type hypersensitivity granuloma reaction (DTH-GRA). (5-Benzoyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-ylidene)-bisphosphonic acid tetraethyl ester (8a), and [5-(3-fluorobenzoyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyraxol-3-ylidene]- bisphosphonic acid tetraethyl ester (8d) significantly inhibited the arthritis models, AIP (15 mg/kg) and AIA (25 mg/kg), as well as the DTH-GRA (25 mg/kg). Conversion of 8a to the corresponding bisphosphonic acid, 10a, resulted in loss of activity. Compounds with alkyl substituents on the pyrazoline nitrogen, 9a-d, were inactive in the DTH-GRA. These results show that 8a and 8d have novel antiinflammatory activity and are capable of inhibiting chronic arthritis and inflammation in animals. Such compounds might be useful in man for treating chronic tissue injury associated with arthropathies such as inflammatory joint disease as well as other chronic inflammatory diseases.